Month: April 2017

It’s Tiny Footprint’s favorite time of year again, Earth Day! We try to treat every day like Earth Day here at the roastery, but this Saturday is a day for us to celebrate everything that we’ve done for the earth over the past year.

One of the biggest projects that Tiny Footprint has been involved in since Earth Day 2016 is working with our friends at Cloud Forest Coffee Farms (CFCF). Maybe you remember them from their recent Indiegogo campaign (thank you again contributors!), but if not, here’s a recap. Cloud Forest Coffee Farms is a coffee farm alliance based in the northern Cloud Forest region of Ecuador. They focus on sustainability and the highest quality coffee first and foremost. One of the biggest ways that they accomplish this is through their dedication to agroforestry. Unfortunately, over the past several decades much of Ecuador’s Cloud Forest has been clear cut for cattle pastures and other forms of agriculture. Luckily for Ecuador’s ecosystem, CFCF is focusing on growing coffee sustainably by growing coffee within the landscape and ecology of the Cloud Forest (to learn more about the importance of agroforestry check out this blog post).

A second aspect of Cloud Forest Coffee Farms that’s particularity unique is their involvement in eco-tourism. Eco-tourism is just what is sounds like, creating a travel destination based on the restoration of a specific ecosystem. Tourists come to learn about the sustainability of CFCF as well as take in the stunning beauty of Ecuador (check out their Instagram to see what we mean). With the help of their Indiegogo campaign CFCF has been able to begin construction on a kitchen, bathrooms and coffee bar for their eco-tourists.

Ecotourism isn’t the only aspect of CFCF that has recently grown. With the help of their Indiegogo, CFCF has been able to partner with another reserve, Resereva Alambi, and build out the processing facilities (de-pulping, fermenting and washing) for coffee cherries. This means that more sustainable coffee can be processed at one time. This is fantastic news for sustainable agriculture. As CFCF grows, it pushes the demand for sustainable coffee which helps drive other farms to consider agroforestry as an option for their own crops.

All of this is great news for the Earth and for coffee, but perhaps the coolest environmentally friendly addition to CFCF is their plans for a biodigestor. Essentially a biodigestor is a more complex composting unit that focuses on composting coffee pulp (the byproduct of coffee production). The biodigestor captures the methane and c02 that are released as the pulp decomposes and uses it for fuel, saving money and greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the nutrient rich decomposed coffee pulp is economical natural fertilizer for the growing coffee trees.

We’re proud to be a supporter of Cloud Forest Coffee Farms. Their dedication to sustainability is both necessary and inspiring. If you want to learn more about CFCF and their mission for Earth Day check them out on their website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. If you’re looking for a simple and sustainable way to celebrate this Earth Day you can grab a one pound bag of their latest harvest, available on our website.